Short news: Panoramio, X Prize, GPSTagr

Photo mapping site Panoramio.com gets an update: Not just a new, more functional design, but also hosting help from Google, writes Eduardo Manchon. As a result, “the speed has improved quite much, specially when browsing the map or watching the photos in Panoramio’s KML, they download much faster.”

Red Hen Systems produces GPS devices for Nikon DSLRs. (Though if these things work on the D200, as the press release says, they might want to update their website.) Now they’ve come out with IsWhere, a PC application for quickly showing in Google Earth where an image was taken, if the info is in the EXIF headers. The website says its a free download, the press release says it retails for $30, and if you run it, the app tells you you need to use at least one photo geotagged by a Red Hen GPS device. Why not make it free and attract lots of visitors to the site? IsWhere isUseful but not exactly groundbreaking or unique. (Via this press release on Directions Media)